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I have a question that I don't think has been answered yet. Why would Charlus and Dorea Potter be in the Black Family Tree, and Dorea die in 1977 (close to the projected years of 1978-1981 from HPL) if they are not James' parents/closely related in some way? Then again, why wouldn't Sirius have mentioned any kind of relation? Although we do know from canon that most of the old Pureblood families are interrelated in some way.

I know that Dorea was only 57 at the time of death, and Jo said they were quite old by wizarding terms, but Jo has also said that she is bad at maths, and all the other Black family members, as someone else has said, have Muggle lifespans. Dumbledore seems to be the only wizard in canon who has lived an exceptionally long life.

Dumbledore seems to be the only wizard in canon who has lived an exceptionally long life.

Griselda Marchbanks is even older than Dumbledore (she examined him in his OWLs) as is Bathilda Bagshot. Elphias Doge and Aberforth are near enough the same age, so there are longer living wizards than Albus Dumbledore.

Regarding Dorea and Chrlus, I think you have really answered your own question, but here's a few more reasons.
If Dorea was 57 when she died in 1977, that makes her 40 when she had James in 1960; that's not old to have a child.
Sirius mentions leaving Grimmauld Place when he was 16 (1976/77) and going to 'the Potters'. He also says he bought a flat when he was 17, yet still being welcome at the Potters for Sunday lunch. That appears to put Mrs Potter's death at a later date than 1977.
If Charlus and Dorea had been James' parents then I think James' name would have appeared on the tree- it's a glaring admission otherwise.

Griselda Marchbanks is even older than Dumbledore (she examined him in his OWLs) as is Bathilda Bagshot. Elphias Doge and Aberforth are near enough the same age, so there are longer living wizards than Albus Dumbledore.\

Oh, that's embarrassing. That'll teach me to post on the beta forums late at night! Also, I completely forgot about Great-Aunt Muriel, who is only about 9 years younger and seemed to have plenty of life left in her at Bill and Fleur's wedding. And I have another question--is there anything else Jo has said about the timing of James' parents' deaths, beyond that they were very old by Wizarding terms and died of Wizarding illnesses (in the Leaky interviews)? Anything more specific than the HPL dates of 1978-1981?

Regarding their professions, I read a fic where James' father was a Healer, and that seemed to make sense. It seems that like doctors, Healers would earn a ather larger amount of money than other professions, and they could be a wealthy family even aside from his profession. I don't know how likely it is that neither James OR his family had to work at all, it also could be that his father works at the Ministry, I would guess he does SOMETHING that earns a lot of money.

I think the Potters are the type of wizarding family who has traditions, but almost polar opposite the kind of traditions that the Blacks or Malfoys would have...It's kind of hard to explain what I mean. They live in Godric's Hollow, home of Gryffindor, a place where wizards have lived alongside Muggles (unknown to them) for generations. I don't think they worked at the Ministry. There are plenty of other occupations in the wizarding world, Healers, making magic toys like somebody else said, etc. That's just how I see them. I think they were probably awesome people.

They live in Godric's Hollow, home of Gryffindor, a place where wizards have lived alongside Muggles (unknown to them) for generations.

Actually we have no idea whether James Potter's parents lived in Godric's Hollow; we only know that James and Lily lived there. Even if they were protected by the Fidelius spell (and that was only cast a week before they were killed) it would be stupid to send them to live in the family home.

I recognise the irony of my own words as I have his parents living there in my Marauder fic, but I don't think you can assume that's the case. When Harry and Hermione visited the graveyard they didn't find any other Potter graves.

Oh, but I like the idea of Dorea and Charlus being James's parents, so I shall throw in my thoughts.

Regarding Dorea and Chrlus, I think you have really answered your own question, but here's a few more reasons.
If Dorea was 57 when she died in 1977, that makes her 40 when she had James in 1960; that's not old to have a child.

Dorea was 57. So she was born in 1920. Don't think about the world now, but the world of 1920. I think, according to people in that time, forty would have been an extremely long time. Didn't people used to have children not long after marriage, in their twenties? If you're writing a fic in the historical or marauder time period, age forty being "late" for a child would probably be acceptable.

Sirius mentions leaving Grimmauld Place when he was 16 (1976/77) and going to 'the Potters'. He also says he bought a flat when he was 17, yet still being welcome at the Potters for Sunday lunch. That appears to put Mrs Potter's death at a later date than 1977.

It was mentioned earlier that Sirius didn't mention to Harry who his grandparents were and what they were like. In the family tree scene in OotP, Sirius was talking about his past. Harry's grandparents are dead and irrelevant to the story. Either JKR was focused on telling Sirius's story, which mattered, or deliberately left out Harry's grandparents.

If Charlus and Dorea had been James' parents then I think James' name would have appeared on the tree- it's a glaring admission otherwise.

Voldemort was around the same age as Charlus and Dorea. A little younger, I think. His reign strengthened around the Marauder time and that's when true blood traitors would have been disowned. It was probably acceptable for Dorea, a Black, to marry Charlus Potter, whose family was most likely different from the main Slytherin families, because true separation and discrimination of the war hadn't begun. But then Charlus and Dorea died, and James began fighting in the war, so his name had been blasted off or had not even been added if Charlus and Dorea were disowned later on.

Dorea was 57. So she was born in 1920. Don't think about the world now, but the world of 1920. I think, according to people in that time, forty would have been an extremely long time. Didn't people used to have children not long after marriage, in their twenties? If you're writing a fic in the historical or marauder time period, age forty being "late" for a child would probably be acceptable.

Late for a first child, certainly, but I'm sure women were known to have children in their 40s. Contraceptives didn't become widely available until much later, and I'm sure all women didn't stop sleeping with their husbands as soon as they reached thirty-five or so.

57 is not old. Rowling says that James parents were old, even by wizarding standards, when they died. 57 isn't old by our standards! Rowling has also said that James' parents didn't die until he left school in 1978. Dorea Potter died in 1977, when James would have been in school.

Voldemort was around the same age as Charlus and Dorea. A little younger, I think. His reign strengthened around the Marauder time and that's when true blood traitors would have been disowned. It was probably acceptable for Dorea, a Black, to marry Charlus Potter, whose family was most likely different from the main Slytherin families, because true separation and discrimination of the war hadn't begun. But then Charlus and Dorea died, and James began fighting in the war, so his name had been blasted off or had not even been added if Charlus and Dorea were disowned later on.

It's obvious from the books that blood prejudice had been going on for centuries before Voldemort turned up. It certainly wasn't an idea that rose with him. Remember what Sirius said about his family? In the beginning, his parents were all for Voldemort and the purification of the wizarding race, and the Blacks had been disowning people for marrying Muggles back in the 1800s and probably furthur back. They were pure-blood fanatics before Voldemort showed up, and so were plenty of others. That's how he got his support.